Congress should preserve GMO labeling efforts

San Francisco Chronicle

July 21, 2015

The benign-sounding Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act could hardly have a more misleading title. This measure, which is expected to reach the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives this week, is designed to address public concerns about the safety of genetically modified foods by prohibiting states from requiring forthright labels.

Opponents, who include environmental and food-safety advocates, have called it the “Denying Americans the Right-to-Know (Dark) Act” or the “Monsanto Protection Act.”

The measure (HR1599), sponsored by Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Kan., would wipe out laws in Vermont, Connecticut and Maine that mandate GMO labeling. It would go a step further by preventing states from restricting GMO crops.

The debate about the efficacy and dangers of GMO foods is very contentious. Defenders of GMO technology claim it allows agriculture to be more productive on less land, fewer pesticides and herbicides, less fertilizer — and, take note, Californians — less water. Opponents warn that the benefits are overstated and the risk of long-term effects on human health and the environment are considerable.

The bottom line is that consumers are wary, which is why some companies have voluntarily put “no GMO” labels on their products. States should not have to wait for the federal government to act in consumers’ interest. Congress should reject HR1599.